Rolla students advance to national contest

Two Rolla Junior High School students and a Dixon Middle School student placed in the National History Day in Missouri state competition held April 20 at the University of Missouri in Columbia and will now advance to the national contest.

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By Staff Reports

The Rolla Daily News - Rolla, MO

By Staff Reports

Posted May. 2, 2013 at 11:45 AM

By Staff Reports

Posted May. 2, 2013 at 11:45 AM

COLUMBIA

Two Rolla Junior High School students and a Dixon Middle School student placed in the National History Day in Missouri state competition held April 20 at the University of Missouri in Columbia and will now advance to the national contest.

Rolla Junior High students Nate Potrafka and Tyler Dodd placed second in the senior (grades nine through 12) group website category with their project titled, “The Tet Offensive: The start of the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam.” Their teacher is Karron Ingram.

Taylor Middleton, a student at Dixon Middle School, placed second in the junior (grades six through eight) historical paper (individual only) category with the project titled, “The Reforms of Charlemagne.” Middleton’s teacher is Vanessa Lambeth.

National History Day is an innovative educational program, in which students conduct extensive research on historical subjects related to an annual theme and present their findings their way through exhibits, performances, papers, websites and documentaries.

At the Missouri competition, roughly 600 students advance from regionals throughout the state.

Volunteer judges selected 56 students at the state competition to send to the Kenneth E. Behring National Contest in College Park, Md., June 9-13. Their 36 projects that placed first and second in the state will compete at nationals, including many that also received one of the 21 state special prizes. These students represent the best of the best from more than 2,500 participants across the state.

According to the State Historical Society of Missouri (SHSMO), which administers the program in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council, Missouri’s students returned from the 2012 national contest with one first-place junior individual website winner, three special prize winners, two outstanding affiliate entry winners, and an entry displayed at the National Museum of American History.

In all, 64 percent of Missouri’s 2012 entries placed in the top half of all national participants.

To get involved in National History Day in Missouri, contact coordinator Maggie Mayhan at mayhanm@umsystem.edu or 573-882-0189.